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How Many Languages is Your Website Available In: A Look At WordPress Translations

How many languages is your WordPress site viewable in? If the answer is just one, you could be missing out on the opportunity to scale your website and increase revenue. Check out how simple translating your site’s content can be and the potential benefits you can expect.

The State of the Internet

The digital age has completely changed how we connect with the world around us. Advancements in web accessibility and communication have transformed the way we share and experience ideas. As content becomes easier to distribute to diverse audiences, brands and individuals will need to adopt a global mindset to address today’s increasingly homogenized world.

Currently, the language disparity between web content and those able to comprehend it is vast. While more than half of content available is presented in English, a mere 18 percent of web users identify with this as their primary language (CSA). Bloggers, eCommerce sites, or brands that choose to offer their WordPress site in only one language risk alienating a large audience. One study interviewed over 2,400 participants and found that more than 50 percent of online shoppers from Germany, Russia, France, Japan, Spain, Brazil, China, and Turkey bought exclusively from sites offered in their primary language.

While a localized website or blog is certainly necessary for success in a global web space, often times brands or individuals targeting domestic readers or customers exclusively don’t see the need for translated content. While English is spoken widely throughout the United States, the number of Americans who speak a different language at home is steadily increasing. Currently, more than 37 million Americans converse in Spanish at home, while more than 2 million use French and nearly 3 million use Chinese (Washington Times). Targeting this portion of the population by engaging them in their native language has the opportunity to differentiate your brand, store, or blog.

Localized Website Potential

One of the most substantial benefits of localization is an increase in customer retention for businesses and eCommerce shops. Research firm Common Sense Advisory reports that product information offered in a customer’s native language is a stronger influence for purchase than the product’s price. Subsequently, brands or individuals that choose to prioritize their global customers can expect to see an increase in revenue from doing so. Bain and Co. reports that 80 percent of a company’s future earnings come from just 20 percent of its current customer base.

Brands that offer a localized web presence have the opportunity to increase revenue as a result as well. For access to over 95 percent of the world’s wallet, brands need to have a localized web presence of no less than 20 available translations of their site. If you use your WordPress powered site as a blog for your shop, or it hosts your eCommerce store directly, integrating Google Analytics with your site can help you examine your readership. Begin crafting your localization strategy and what languages you’ll be implementing by analyzing your audience composition geographically.

Examining The Options

If you’re considering localizing your WordPress site, you can do so with minimal technical expertise and a shoe string budget. Whether you post regularly to a personal or corporate blog or operate an eCommerce store, there are several translation options available to fit your needs.

Integrating a translation application with your WordPress site can be one of the most convenient options. Translate.com’s services can be integrated with WordPress sites through their Website Translator. Once installed, users are able to manage the localization of product descriptions, meta tags, site content, photos, videos and more.

If your site doesn’t have multiple pages to translate, placing an order for a human translation of your content can guarantee you the highest degree of quality and accuracy. A method of translation known as post machine editing, or PME, allows professional translators to edit machine translated text. Advancements like these have resulted in quicker turnaround times and have subsequently decreased the price of human powered translations For a full list of available localization services and packages, please visit translate.com/enterprise. For additional resources and information on how your WordPress site can best leverage localization, check out Translate.com’s blog.

Chelsea is a Chicago based marketing and PR fanatic with Translate.com. Contact her at chelsea@translate.com or connect on Twitter (@translatecom), for riveting discussions on localization, A.I, or Netflix recommendations.

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